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PCB to rectify 2012 contract list

The exclusion of Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Talha has not gone down well with many.

Lahore: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to rectify some glaring omissions from the list of players awarded central contracts and retainers for the year 2012 with fast bowlers, Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Talha expected to be included in the list this week.

Well-placed sources in the board said that chief selector Iqbal Qasim had spoken to senior board officials and discussed the omissions of Sami and Talha from the list of contracted players. "Discussions were also held on how the name of a banned player, Bismallah Khan was included in the list of players given retainers for the year," a source said.

The source also said that captain Misbah-ul-Haq had also spoken to board officials about the omission of Sami and Talha from the central contracts. "A final decision on including Sami and Talha in the central contracts list will be taken as soon as board chairman Zaka Ashraf returns from India by Tuesday," the source said.

Sami's exclusion from the list had caused an uproar in the cricket circles as he is among the few players who is part of the Pakistan team in all three formats of the game for the tour of Sri Lanka. Sami, who has performed admirably in the last domestic season and also in the Bangladesh Premier League, was said to have expressed complete dismay after finding out he had not got a contract.

He was recalled to the national team for the Sri Lanka tour after a gap of two years. "Apparently it has been decided in principle to give Sami and Talha contracts but a final decision and approval would be given when Ashraf returns home," the source said.

He added that there were also chances that Bismillah's name will be dropped from the retainer's list as he was recently banned for a year by the board for gross misconduct during a grade two domestic match while playing for Peshawar.